Feel like I am living in a nightmare

[newnamesa]

Sorry if this is a long post but dont want to drip feed.
I live in a shared house in a housing co-op. For the last two years myself and family (and one other tenant) have been harrassed by another tenant. It has got to the point that I am on two types of medication due to this issue.
He was an aquaintance that showed up at my door asking could he leave his bike at my place, so I said of course. It them transpired he had been eviceted and asked to stay. As the house was very underoccupied I said of course. He was granted a tenancy, even though he was evicted due to none payment of rent/bills at his last place due to me sticking up for him as I thought it was only fair as he was street homeless and the co-op house was vertually empty.
Anyway since then he has inflicted a living nightmare on everyone else who lives here.
Ill feeling started off when the bills came in. He took my asking him to pay his share as a person attack and since then has sworn to make our lives a misery.
He assulted me about a year ago and the police did nothing. He sends long rambling abusive emails and texts. He has called me a sloppy bitch in an email that he sent round to the whole co-op. He messes around with the bills, getting the power company to delay issuing bills till they mount up and then claims he is not liable. These are just a few highlights of an ongoing campaign.
He has described his behaviour as 'psychological warefare' and warned me that he knows what he is doing. And he does, he is careful to stay just inside the law. (forinstance he no longer used my name in his abusive letters, small details like that, that I only find out when I go to the police that it counts as not addressed to me)
The housing co-op have been worse than useless and are doing nothing. Because I have never been in a relationship with him all the domestic violence services say its not DV. The police say the landlord should be dealing with it.
I am at the point of feeling utterly hopeless and can see anyway out of this.

• *[Edited by MNHQ to remove identifying info] **

I do think he has faced conquences before, yes. And its entirely possible he was evicted for harrassment as well as non payment of rent.
I'm not sure of an overall purpose tho, other than to distress others.
I think he may well have a personality disorder, and also I do think its comon old garden bulllying by someone who deep down feels inadaquet (tbf he is)
I would feel sorry for him if he was not so relentlesly toxic.

I may be misunderstanding but you say there are a lot of empty units and this is the only one that is shared, so is a possibility for you or him to move to another unit?

no the other units are all currently occupied. We have all (except nightmare tenant, who has said he will never move out) applied to be on the rehousing list that the co-op has but as its a small co-op its an unknown when/if places will come up.

When you all have asked to be rehoused did you have to give a reason? Just wondering if all the people said they wished to be rehoused because of Tenant X if that would reinforce the intolerable nature of the situation Tenant X is creating.

Yes they know the reason, in fact the co-op suggested it.

Sorry, I misunderstood.

Just ignore his notes and letters. When you come down, just gather all his letters up and put them in a box. Look up the grey rock technique. Keep hassling the Co-op to try and get him out.

Don't move out. this is your home.

There are several avenues you can try but you will need some support.

Shelter -

england.shelter.org.uk/what_we_do?reserved_appeal_code=20211101-IG-47&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIldLN3-zW9AIVb4BQBh1nUguQEAAYASACEgK6G_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

• to establish legal routes to eviction
• force the management company to enforce the bye laws against him

This firm offers housing advice on a no win no fee basis.

www.hja.net/legal-services/housing-help/

You have the right to be protected against harassment but the complicating factor is what precise protection you can seek whilst he has a legal right to occupy your home.

Recent legislation outlawing controlling coercive behaviour broadly applies to those in a ‘family’ relationship with the perpetrator. I don’t know if this extends to those living together in a cooperative.

You can get some free advice from

vardags.com/l/manchester/top-divorce-lawyer/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8rD-wvTW9AIVlJftCh3D2wOzEAAYASAAEgKvpvD_BwE

on what avenues are open to you under family law.

Finally the citizens advice bureau can advice on taking action against him on harassment grounds

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

I hope this helps OP.

Thank you so much, I will check out all those.

You and the other Tennant should serve notice citing all your complaints and the landlords failure to do anything about it. Force their hand. You were very naive to vouch for an unknown person to be added to the tenancy though, there's doubt someone a good turn and then there's being a mug.

I am so sorry you are going through this, OP. The housing co-op board sound hopeless. They should not take positions of responsibility if they are not prepared to deal with aggressive trouble-makers.

I have no advice, but there are lots of wise women on Mumsnet who know a lot about these things.

Best of luck. Xx

Who pays his share of the rent?

Can I ask if you're in the UK? As legal advice may vary. I've never heard of a housing co-op like this with house shares, (I'm in Scotland); it doesn't sound like a housing association.

It sounds awful. Could you find another place at £40 a week locally or get a better paid full time job and even weekend job on top of that just to be out of this situation and not relying on the fact it is cheaper housing?

Is it a private co-op with a contract or some kind of social housing? The contract will be the key to all this but if he is clever at it all it may be simpler just to leave.

How does it work with the rent, do you all pay individually. What happens if he doesn't pay, as you've suggested he didn't in the last place will he be evicted.
Is perhaps not paying the rent a way to get the attention of the coop.

@Suzi888

Who pays his share of the rent?

Housing Benifit of course.

Yes in England.

Housing Benifit pay his rent unfortunatly and he get %100 of council tax paid thanks to our lovely Labour council that we all pay tax for. Sorry if I sound bitter, I do believe in social policies but someone like this just takes the piss.

Doesn't he have to pay the money he receives in HB, or UC himself, rather than it going direct to the landlord.
Is he doing that.

It goes direct to the landlord as the co-op are registered as a social housing provider. Its a shame as if it was left to him he would never pay it to them and they would absolutly evict for rent arrears.

Yes, but you can still opt to pay yourself.
Wasnt the last place he was evicted from a coop place, for not paying his rent?
Just wondering if he's opted to pay it himself, then would imagine it would be a repeat of the above eventually.
How long has he lived there for?

His last place was not the co-op so he recieved the HB checks (and of course kept them) but with the co-op it goes direct to them and as far as I know he gets no say in that?

He's been here for just over two years.

Other people have given very good advice - all I can offer is this : when I was in a similar situation where all other avenues were closed to me and I was at my wits' end, I made an appointment to speak face to face with my MP at one of their local surgeries. I took copies of my evidence and paperwork with me, and explained myself calmly and logically. That was the impetus that got the wheels turning for me. We may not always like them, but when an MP starts getting interested in your case, others listen. It might be worth a try.

How does he pay for food, bills etc if he is not working?

Can you ask the water/electricity/gas companies to bill you separately?